


The Second

by orphan_account



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Bisexual Female Character, F/F, Lesbian Character, Paz gets kicked out, Poverty, She's living in Chicago and trying her best, extension of canon, kinda angsty, lots of falling in love however, they're both around 18/19
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-21
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-05-22 11:11:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6077208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Pacifica (Now Elise) is living in Chicago after leaving Gravity Falls permanently. She runs into Mabel who just transferred to the city to attend the Art Institute. Meeting their adult-selves for the first time, childhood crushes rise back up and the two are forced to confront all that happened and didn't happen so many years ago. </p><p>(Not sure how long this'll be yet, but here you go!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Second

**Author's Note:**

> please comment/give kudos if you enjoy!

It wasn’t a polite morning. Her former favorite song (ruined by its existence as an alarm) sounded at 4:30, and Dana was already yelling at her to shut it off. Her roommate was such a light sleeper that Pacifica could rarely take a shower without getting angry glares and her food eaten the next day. She didn’t blame her, everyone was tired. Everyone could use more sleep. 

It did appear however that this was one of those days so Pacifica quickly disabled the alarm before realizing that her phone was now only at 12%. Her face crinkled. 

“Why the fuck…?” She followed the charger cord down off her bed and saw that it was plugged in. “Shoot.” She turned the knob on her lamp twice but the room stayed dark. “No! Shit!”

“Elise! I swear to God!” Her roommate called again, voice muffled by pillows and sleep.

“The power’s out.” Pacifica heard another moan and covers shift. She just realized how cold it was, her breath had been creating tiny clouds this entire time which drifted down and disappeared by the time they hit the floor. She turned her gaze out the window. The snow was staying all day, she remembered, and wouldn’t be stopping until three the next morning. The news stations had been talking about it all yesterday. The total lack of winter had surprised everyone until this storm, the one that was supposed to make everything that pretty white that made walking the streets bearable in February. 

“Can you call the electric company sometime today?” She called to the other room and heard an affirmative groan. Pacifica was pulling on a bra and the thickest sweater she owned. The scarves and coats she had now wouldn’t be perfect but it was really all that she had. Dressing out of necessity was still something she was getting used to. It used to be all about style, but Pacifica couldn’t even pretend to follow trends anymore. She was trying to stay warm and if mountain boots kept her warm then that’s what she would wear. In some ways, it made mornings easier. She didn’t wear as much makeup, her hair was shorter and more manageable, the only daily hygiene she committed to was tooth-brushing and deodorant. 

Walking through the kitchen/dining/living room in their apartment, some guy was asleep on their couch with Vincent wrapped around him. They were both extremely naked and shivering. 

“That’s what you assholes get for sleeping naked in the middle of a snowstorm.” She muttered, running back to her room and grabbing one of the extra blankets. “Stay warm.”

“Mmm… Thanks Elise.” Vincent wrapped tighter around the guy and didn’t open his eyes. Lucky assholes with their 9-o-clock shifts. Pacifica smiled, at least the guy was cuter than the last one. 

“I’ll be back around 5.”

“You’re not going out?” He cracked one eye, straining them in the dark.

“Nah… It’s too cold.”

“Okay. See you later.”

Out in the snow, Pacifica’s hair was streaked with white which quickly vanished into the greasy bun. She remembered a time when she would shower almost every day, but the texture didn’t bother her anymore. Thank God. It was so cold and the wind went right through every layer she could find. Young people were everywhere on the streets, heading to classes at the Institute which would probably soon be cancelled. All the artsy, early-rising twentysomethings with tattoos and dyed hair, it was always a spectacle. Pacifica felt so strangely drab in comparison. Superiority was a hard feeling to come by nowadays, but it used to be her bread and butter. Her bus arrivedsoon after she came at the stop, she hadn’t checked her phone or put in headphones, items which were usually the things carrying her from stop to job. But with the 12% now at 10, she was gonna save it for emergencies. 

Crossing the snow covered streets, there were few cars. A rare sight, even for Chicago and even for this time of day. The bus was at least warmer and full. She was sitting next to an older black woman who she usually met at the stop. She was sweet for the girls of the city and often turned out advice about men. Pacifica always listen attentively even if the information rarely applied. The store wasn’t lit when she arrived and so she stood around the back entrance with the roof waiting for her manager to show up. He was usually a few minutes late, not that Pacifica minded, it gave her time to relax in the morning. Besides, she would hate to have someone tight and controlling, it would give her no leeway if the bus was late or she got really sick one day, Shawn was relaxed about pretty much everything. And nobody minded. 

“Hey Elise.” He walked up with thick gloves, the keys sounded frozen, clanking in his hands. 

“G’morning.” She responded, her lips largely frozen by now. “You have power?”

“Yeah.” He said, “You?”

Her sigh let him know the answer and he grimaced, finally getting the door open, they both stepped in.

“That seriously sucks. You guys must be freezing. You call electric?”

“Dana said she would.”

“I’d make sure. You know they don’t always care as much around here.” Pacifica nodded and other employees started in, putting on uniforms and visors that truly made everyone look ridiculous. “The snow makes everyone act weird. The fire department might shut us down for the day if it keeps getting worse like they say it’s going to.”

He started off, turning on lights and getting the store ready for the barrage of students who’d be in regardless of classes. Monday morning and everyone was already Friday levels of complete exhaustion. Pacifica fumbled with her sweater for a second, but it was soon off and her white polo shone out like she too was just part of the freshly formed banks of snow.  

* * *

Mabel Pines was in love. With Chicago. And everyone in it. Even though she had only been here a few weeks, she didn’t mind the cold or the noise, this was the perfect place. She was happy to be closer to Dipper and happy to be further from home. This was what she wanted college to be, a whole set of new experiences, not just staying in the same place for the rest of her life. That wasn’t Mabel.

She had been studying Art History in California but after missing her brother tremendously and realizing that studying art was a lot less exciting than making art, she applied to SAIC (which she and Dipper had affectionately nicknamed SACC) and gotten in, even with the limited portfolio and midyear application. She could tell that she had made the right decision. 

Her roommate was still asleep but she had spent most of the early hours of the morning watching the snow as the sun came up. Her campus dorm offered a pretty nice few of the college buildings and people scuttering around on the white-swept ground. Sitting on the bed with a cup of hot chocoffee (her own invention), the world seemed perfectly at ease with itself. Mabel brushed her hand through her hair and remembered that even though classes had been cancelled, she still had to go out. She had exhausted her supply of those cool bags of powdered donuts last night with a marathon of bad mid-00’s TV drama, and she was already craving some. Mabel’s sweet tooth had returned with a vengeance earlier last year, and she had long-since given up feeling like shit about her body in high school. Now she was thoroughly in love with herself like every young woman should be!

Wrapping a coat and scarf around her body, she stepped out and began the wandering route to the corner store not to far from here. Her roommate had informed her that it was The Place that university students went for snacks and terrible quality alcohol. Mabel had a craving for both. The air was so muddied with snow that Mabel couldn’t breathe without capturing one or two flakes in her mouth. In Piedmont, the snow had never really been a thing. So besides the few times the twins had visited their Grunkles over Christmas break, she wasn’t used to the wonder of it. 

When she arrived at the store, it was well lit, with red boxes of candies lining the front display and a heart stuck on the logo. Valentine’s season was underway after all. She didn’t know exactly where she wanted to go just yet. This was her first time she’d ever been and scoping out the grocery store/fast food department was what Wendy recommended for first steps in your college town of choice. She said hi to all of the employees she saw on her walk down the snack aisle, her feet lightening with the cheesy music playing above everyone’s ears, she was almost dancing. Most of the employees, overworked college students or older men and women with families to support, didn’t give her the cheery return. Mabel was fine with this, it was a day where the store _should_ be closed anyway, with no one walking around or driving in this mess. 

With a full cart of junk and very inexpensive wine, Mabel made her way back to the front. The lines were all long, people buying toilet paper and water, preparing for the worst. Mabel was slipping between humming and singing along to every tune they played. A few customers chuckled with amusement, she was far more extroverted then most of the tortured artists they saw everyday. At the front of the line, she was being taken care of by a very attractive blonde with an adorable messy bob-ish thing. She looked like a classic beauty, Marilyn Monroe style or something, a gay Marilyn Monroe at that. Mabel had noted her double-venus earnings from the moment she stepped up. Her name tag read, ‘Elise’, man, that was a pretty name. That was the name a princess would get. 

“I like your earrings.” She said, clumsily flirtatious. She has not improved much in the seduction department from her boy crazy days of that first summer, now it’s just that everyone was subjected to it. “They’re cute.”

Pacifica, who hadn’t been listening, was shook from her intense study of the girl’s face. She was _sure,_ absolutely sure, that they had met somewhere before. She just couldn’t place where.

“Oh…” Pacifica blushed, terribly aware of the nature of Mabel’s comment, “Thanks, I got them online.”

“They’re really cute…” Mabel said, feeling a familiar warmth grow in her chest. She frowned suddenly, “Do…” She paused, “Do I know you from somewhere?”

Pacifica was taken aback, suddenly nervous about the possibility that the girl too knew something about her. She started to push her items through faster, missing the label a few times and having to retry. “Oh, I don’t know.”

“Did you grow up in Piedmont, California?” Mabel asked suddenly, getting excited. This was a way in, a reason for the two of them to hang out, get caught up, get _tied_ up-

“No, I didn’t- I-”

“Or maybe we toured colleges together! You’d be surprised how many people I meet at the institute who I recognize!” 

“I didn’t really… tour colleges. So probably not.” Pacifica pulled out the two identical boxed wines. She took a long hard look at the other girl, the hair made her look older than she probably was. Pacifica sighed nervously, turning the conversation back into business. “Do you have a card?”

Mabel nodded quickly, it always made her nervous, no matter how many times she and Dipper had gotten away with being 21. She pulled out the ID that he had personally made her before he left in the fall. Her hair was longer in the picture, now she only had the soft brown tips that turned red as they trailed off. A smart, small pixie. 

Pacifica took the card and studied it only for a second before gasping. She knew where she knew this girl. 

“You…” She stopped herself just short of saying it. What kind of idiot puts their own name on a fake ID? “I do know you…” She paused, “And you know me.”

Mabel’s eyes lit up. 

“I grew up in Gravity Falls.” Mabel’s mouth opened and hung there for a second, then it grew into a smile wider than any Pacifica had seen in her life. Customers were growing annoyed behind her and Shawn gave her a strange look. It was time to move things along. 

“Pacifica!” Mabel shouted, “Pacifica Northwest! Holy shit! What are you doing here?”

“Elise?” Shawn called, “What’s going on?”

“Shhh.” Pacifica hissed at Mabel, this was an interesting development but not worth getting fired over. “It’s fine!” She started to throw the items into a bag, 

“That’s gonna be $40.56.” 

Mabel laughed, Pacifica panicked. 

“No way, you’re not gonna throw me off that easy!” Mabel’s voice was lower but Pacifica was still keeping an eye on the line that was angrily waiting the colorful girl’s departure. “What are you doing in Chicago?”  


“I- I live here!”

“Let me guess, Northwestern.” 

“What?”

Mabel laughed, “I just thought it would be pretty hilarious. I mean, imagine how many people you could trick with the whole ‘I own the school thing’. So many kids would believe you!”

“Oh…” Pacifica frowned and understood, “No, I don’t go to Northwestern.” Mabel nodded and grinned.

“Yeah, Dipstick probably would have told me. I’m sure he’d be thrilled to have another friend in town.” Mabel picked out a few twenties from her purse. They were crumpled and half torn, normally Pacifica would be pissed at the asshole who pulled something like that but how could she? It was Mabel.

“So where do you go?” She asked and Pacifica couldn’t even look at her, she focused on putting the money away and taking out the change. How much worse does it have to get? Telling the girl she always knew she was worth more then that she _couldn’t_ go to college. That she probably never would. That she’s working because she has to, not to make some extra cash on days when she doesn’t have classes. Like a Northwest would even have to do that in the first place?

“So… Elise? Is that your middle name?”

“Listen, I don’t really have time to talk. I have…” She gestured to the people standing behind Mabel, who turned and sheepishly grinned. 

“You’re right. I’m being a jerk. When do you get off, we should grab coffee or lunch?”

“Not until late.” Pacifica lied, she couldn’t go down this road. This would be the worst possible road that would only make her regret every possible choice she’s made. Mabel frowned. 

“Hmm, I have late classes. Maybe tomorrow, or when’s your lunch break?”

“I- I don’t know. This week isn’t super great for me… with everything. I have-“

“Exams? Projects?” Mabel sighed, “Yeah, it’s a weird time for everyone.” Pacifica frowned, digging herself deeper into a lie that she hadn’t meant to tell in the first place. “But there must be sometime when you aren’t working or in class. I mean, how often does Pacifica Northwest really need to work anyway?” She laughed.

To Pacifica’s despair, a voice came over the speaker system and cut off the music that Mabel was still tapping her toes to.

“ATTENTION SHOPPERS. WILLARD’S WILL BE CLOSED STARTING AT 12:30 PM ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2ND UNTIL THE FOLLOWING MORNING DUE TO INCLEMENT WEATHER. THANK YOU AND BE SAFE.” Pacifica nearly swore under her breath, Mabel, however, beamed even wider. 

“Mabel-”

“How about that lunch break?” Mabel slid her phone across the counter. “Put your number in so ifyou don’t show up I know who to complain to.” Pacifica was completely frozen, she remembered that once Mabel Pines had her mind around something it was hard to dissuade her. She looked at the brunette’s face again, she was a little chubby, just like when she was a little kid, with red, red cheeks and a bright smile. Her earnings shone like stars off the side of her short haircut. 

She looked like a total… dyke.

“Okay.” Pacifica decided. She picked up the phone to put her number in. “But where are we gonna go? If we’re closing, that means the fire department is gonna shut down every store in this area.”

Mabel only thought for a moment before shooting a Pacifica a look that could make even the most heterosexual of women question themselves. 

“Why don’t you just come to my dorm? My roommates won’t mind.” Pacifica’s hand tightened around the phone and she quickly handed it back to Mabel. “And I’m sure _I_ won’t mind sharing this if you want?” She picked up the boxed wine and shook it before placing it back into the bag. 

Pacifica grimaced, “I probably shouldn’t get drunk considering I have work tomorrow.”

Mabel groaned but was still smiling, “Come on, Pacifica! What do I have to do? Come over at 5, we can grab food and catch up and hang out! It’s been like…”  


“Three years.” Pacifica said, maybe a little too self-assured. Mabel nodded.

“That’s three years too many.” She said and took the blonde’s hand, squeezing it. “You’ll have a great time, I promise.”

“Lady!” A woman yelled from the back of the line, “I have to get back to my kids.” There was murmured agreement from the others. Pacifica panicked again. 

“Okay!” Pacifica said, “You win, I will come over and have a good time and we can talk about whatever you want.” _For the most part_ , she thought, Mabel squeezed her hand again and smiled wide, grabbing her bags and strutting out the door. 

“This is gonna be amazing! I promise you that! It’s good to see you again, Pacifica Northwest!” She yelled as the snow enveloped her. 

Shawn looked at her and mouthed, ‘ _Pacifica?_ ’ but she was already focused on the disgruntled customers who had overwhelmed her station. This was all partially her fault, she should have just kept pretending she had no idea who Mabel Pines was, she shouldn’t have let the girl flirt with her at all. That’s what got her into this mess in the first place. She watched the purple coat descend into nothingness and sighed. Mabel Pines had aged well but still kept her air of flawless immaturity, like a box of wine. Pacifica rubbed her eyes and pulled on her visor, the Pines were here to change everything all over again.

* * *

Mabel buzzed back to her room and found the pigsty in the way she left it. She got to work immediately, clearing away all the empty bags and bowls and picking up every item of clothing she’d thrown on the ground over the past week and placing it in the back of her closet. Her roommate was awake by now, lying in silence on her phone.

“Can you stay someplace else tonight?” Mabel asked, poking Kim lightly on her arm, “I’m having someone over?”

“A guyy?” She rolled over to face Mabel, eyes bloodshot and clearly still a little wasted. 

“A girl. An old friend from summers past. I didn’t even know she was living in Chicago but she apparently works at Willard’s! Isn’t that crazy?” Kim mumbled a faint affirmative and then turned back over. “So could you stay with Jeffrey tonight or something? We’ll be up late probably, and I know you have an 8-o-clock class tomorrow.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Kim stretched and Mabel resumed picking things up. “Are you trying to like.. fuck this summer camp friend?”

Mabel laughed, “I wish.” She tossed a bag of Tostitos in the bin. “She’s way to rich to want someone like me, her parents are like loaded or whatever,” Mabel shrugged, “but she does apparently like girls.”

“Well, who knows. Maybe you’ll get lucky.”

“Yeah.” Mabel smiled, thinking of Pacifica’s earrings again, “Maybe.”

* * *

Pacifica returned home around 1 and promptly fell into bed. Even though she was pissed about missing half her pay, she was grateful for the change to un-fuck up her sleep schedule. However, as she curled the blankets around her, Dana walked in sat on the bed.

“I called electric, they said it should be fixed later tonight.”  


“It’s fucking freezing in here.” Dana nodded and rubbed Pacifica’s shoulder. “Are you guys still going out tonight?”

“Haha, no. Vince is having guy troubles, also it’s really cold out if you hadn’t noticed. Everywhere’s closed.”

“Right.”

“We figured we might just do a roomie’s-in kinda night. Watch a movie on my aunt’s Netflix or something?”

“Oh.” Pacifica had nearly forgotten that for once, _she_ wasn’t going to be in. “Actually, I have a- _thing_  it turns out.” She tripped over her words, nearly saying ‘date’ when that absolutely positively was not what this was. Dana smirked, showing no sign of disappointment. She had been trying to get Elise out of this apartment since she moved in earlier this fall. 

“A… thing?” She said, “My, my, my, Vincent is gonna have a fit when he hears about this… _thing._ After all, one _thing_ can be so many.” 

“It’s nothing, honestly.” 

“Who’s the lucky lady?”

“It’s  _not_ what you think it is.”

“ _Is_ it a lady?”

Pacifica paused, knowing that she was totally defeated and would not be able to hear the end of this for months. Nothing excites a bunch of gays like other gays screwing around. 

“Yes, it’s a lady.” Dana punched the air.

“I knew it.” She exclaimed, “You’re too adorable not to go out with somebody. You know, good sex can make a terrible winter a lot better.” She looked out the window, “And it seems like we’re really gonna need it.”

“I… I really don’t think anything is gonna happen. I don’t know if she likes girls and we’re also just catching up. She used to know me before…”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”  


“Does she know about... all this?”  


Pacifica held her breath, there was too much to tell, too much to say over a single fractured interchange. 

“She doesn’t.”

Dana smiled softly and touched her roommates’ hand.

“Tell her tonight and I’m sure it’ll go well.”

Pacifica nodded, Mabel didn’t really know anything. Not even her name. Maybe this was too insane and forced to work. A chance meeting after years, she couldn’t imagine it yielding anything exciting beyond an awkward dinner and drinks, but she had underestimated Mabel Pines in the past, and it would be better than the chips and frozen guac that she was sure would be on the menu here. She rubbed her eyes.

“Maybe.”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you like stories about gays kissing and crippling poverty! this is my first strictly mabifica fic and i love these two! definitely the cutest couple on the show. i'll try to post a new update within the next week or so


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